There is a growing question of “Is the setting benefitting from having the main cosmic powers respond to people not really aligned to its inherent nature?” in my mind. I’m not even sure I perfectly worded it there either but aside from how homogenised they have all become in what they can do across the table I’m raising an eyebrow at how faction/character motivations, which should go against the inherent nature of said cosmic power, still get to draw from it with our resident void elves being an example of people with high discipline using a power that is chaotic and all devouring.
In a sense I’ve unconsciously seen them as a simplified DnD alignement charts. Light for LG and NG people, Fel and Necromancy for CE and NE, Arcane for LG, LE and LN, etc. This certainly warrants it’s own thread but in general I’m finding dissatisfaction that we have a trend of characters using evil powers for good and vice-versa and the fact that a PoV is all that it takes to circumvent that doesn’t sit entirely right with me.
It reminds me of how Pathfinder rules make characters’ alignment go with the respective deities and powers. Say, if your patron is LG, you can also be NG or LN without breaking the dogma, and so on. It allows to focus on different aspects of the same path in different situations while still mantaining enough similarity to not fall apart completely. And, say, if fel is CE, a sanctioned warlock can easily be CN, which even if tolerable, absolutely doesn’t mean they’re a good or pleasant person to be around, or a Scarlet Crusader is likely LN, quite dogmatic and bent on eradicating genuine evil along with everything else apart from their creed. And the same pattern can be applied in many ways: going neutral in one way or another is the way, if you stay true to the other side of your affinity. Alas, it’s even harder to do well than sticking to the norm…
I’m really loving the draenei presence in the Voidstorm. Super cool flavor to add.
I also love how, in a way, Lothraxion and Decimus (a domanaar we team up with) both seem to embody and personify the philosophies of their respective cosmic forces. Lothraxion being dead-set in his ways and trusting no point of view but his own, and Decimus giving us reasons to both distrust and trust him - never knowing when he is actually being truthful with us. Very much on par with what we’ve been told about the Void.
It also seems like the dungeon where we fight Lothraxion is skippable on the alpha, but once the quest finished, he is nowhere to be found. Alleria and Arator speak of him as if he died. Does anyone know if he survives?
I think that reading that dialogue as though it’s a stand-in for a smug writer condescending to you is a misinterpretation of it.
Everything that the particular domanaar there says is dripping with understandable sarcasm, as a negative reaction to the commentary of the “Lightforged friend.” Meanwhile, the comments regarding their own civilisation seem to be oozing with self-aggrandisement, which fits the personality of decadent slavers who enjoy nothing more than pitting their gladiators against each other in a show of spectacular violence. That seems to be the general identity that Blizzard is going for with them, and that dialogue is true to that persona.
I’m more interested in the why of the domanaar. Alright, so they have sophisticated structures, splendid gardens and a strong appreciation of bloodsport, but why? I’m looking forward to learning why these beings born of the Void itself have developed such a culture and have interests beyond the consumption of reality, which this dialogue simply doesn’t answer.
If the answer is “there is no answer, they’re just ordinary people with their own culture, anyone can have culture, even beings who embody the all-consuming Void itself,” then sure, points to you and shame on Blizzard for wasting such an intriguing world building opportunity. But hopefully there’s more to them than that.
It can be a very long shot, but… ogres. An off-shot of Highmaul or other shard of the Gorian Empire lost in the Great Dark after Draenor fell apart, changed in their nature but not vices. If that’s their background, it’d make sense for high-ish magic, style, love for grandeur and gladiator battles all at once.
Ironically there are in fact no gardens and most of the wildlife was taken from other worlds alongside countless slaves and is void-infused which the quests cover. So it does in fact seem to be that we have quite literally just welcomed ourselves into an alliance with a part of a universe-devouring, all-consuming, enslaving void people because, uhm, idk I guess like its okay that they’re into all that bcus they’re also anti-xalatath?
Sophisticated structures is also. . .strongly up for debate. Almost all the structures we’ve seen so far are actually built up by Ethereals under Xal’atath’s command. The Voidspire is the one exception it seems and its. . .not particularly. . .sophisticated, in fact its floating and falling apart.
I guess they consider all of the void-corrupted flora to be their “gardens” and maybe they consider the stolen, warped beasts a part of them too. Not exactly splendid from a mortal perspective, but they’re void aliens. Similarly, maybe the monoliths of jagged stone and twisted metal scattered here and there are their idea of “sophisticated structures.” This is all dialogue from the domanaar’s point of view after all, not a mortal interpretation of the Voidstorm.
Perhaps their perspective is as simple as “the universe is full of too many delights that we are yet to sample, it cannot be destroyed until we have had our fill of all of the potential chaos that it harbours.” That makes a little sense. I’m just interested in learning why they’ve developed such a nuanced view of the universe when they’re double-voidwalkers and second only to the Void Lords in the Cosmic Void hierarchy.
Unless or until we get more information about the domanaar, it really does look like they’re that simple. As sapient beings born of the void, they’re nothing but more than their desires and apparently, these can be contrary to the desires of the Void.
Are they actually legion defectors or just unaffliated demons who joined them?
Just speculation here, but what if it turns out the legion was just a special case of an army marching on fel flavored nose powder.
Could explain why Illidan had to break their addiction with something equally strong but other demons not tied to the legion like the ones in Shattrath City don’t seem all to bothered.
legion recruitment posters must by wild. Walking down the streets of eradunia and see an felguard pointing out from a poster with ‘be the best imp you can be’ in big bold letters underneath whilst a paladin is impaled on a fel spike behind it.
The Legion went from your classical “infinite amount of evil beings made out of cosmic firmament just beyond the veil” to “the zerg” from WC3 to Legion. So I guess they could play the “actually not all demons” card.
Which makes me chortle and chuckle and slap my thigh.
So, apparently the Voidstorm isn’t a place within the Void itself, rather its just another planet, which appears to have been wrecked by the Void! (Like Telogrus?)
Apparently one of the Void Elves compares it to Outland, to give the players an idea of its state!